The Emblem War
by SuddenJami
Summary: A war brews in Archanea, but Marth is clueless on whose causing it and what for. He decides to find out, but what will happen if he loses and how will his destiny change? COMPLETE.
1. Mistaken Destiny

** I just had this idea for some time, but I hope you enjoy! (Marth's perspective)**_  
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_Crossed Paths  
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"Marth, Your Majesty!" Marth's closest friend had arrived, Merric.

Marth stood up in surprise. He got of the throne and asked, "What is the matter?"

Merric stood there gasping for breath, "W-We have i-intruders! They infiltrated the borders and are nearing the castle!"

"What?" Marth stood there and wondered who it could've been then asked Merric, "Who are they and want do they want from me?"

"I am terribly sorry sire, but no one knows who they are, yet I saw a man who used a golden sword and wore blue armor."

"Very well, so then send in more all-"

"We can't for there are too many units dying!"

"I see..." Marth then quickly took out his sheathed Falchion and his shield. Before he had left he told his friend, "I shall go into the battle field and I hope to return with victory." He walked out of the throne room and out of the castle.

When he saw the outdoors it didn't seem very pleasant for hell broke loose. Marth saw countless number of corpses and his heart thumped with fear and agony. He knew that this war was going to be very brutal. For some reason though, the war was not near his castle and had move. Marth then had to travel to find where the war was on-going.

He looked for hours and found nothing except his own dead men. He decided to venture fourth a bit more when he heard men shrieking and fighting. Marth began to run and finally found the madness they call war. He saw his enemies containing snipers, archsages, lance generals, draco knights, a few bishops, and mysteriously one vanguard.

Marth realized it was the one Merric had described. He was the one with the golden sword and blue armor. He decided to get a closer look at the enemy for it seemed that he was the leader.

As Marth observed his main opponent from afar, he discovered that the vanguard had amazing skills in swordsmanship.

Suddenly, the vanguard had his back turned and Marth knew it was time for a stealth attack. He quickly, yet silently, ran up to him and placed his sword around his enemy's neck. Marth looked up and noticed that his opponent was taller than he had seemed for his sword placed on vanguard's chest. Marth's eyes grew wide and then was shoved off. He fell to the ground and looked up. He saw the man and he had blue hair and eyes.

Marth knew that it going to be the end when suddenly a wind archsage, holding a dark green book, came up the vanguard and asked, "Ike, what are you doing?"

The man called Ike replied, "Soren, what are you talking about."

Soren pointed at Marth and said, "This."

"He's a man who tried to kill me. So?"

"Look closer."

Ike did as told and inspected Marth. When he found a tiara on Marth's head he said, "Marth, the Altean Prince."

Marth was in total confusion. He wanted answers, so he yelled out, "Why are you declaring war on us?! We haven't done anything!"

Ike knelt down and said, "We are the Greil Mercenaries and we are attacking your kingdom for doing a terrible crime. However, the only thing we leave remaining alive, is your life."

"That's absurd! What had we done to deserve-"

"You stole the precious Fire Emblem."

Marth was in shock and said, "What? There's a second?"

"Don't play stupid with me. You have the one and only Fire Emblem that posses a goddess that was taken away from us."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just want this war to stop."

"I won't stop this war until you give us back the Fire Emblem."

"Very well, but I will prove to you that this one is ours."

Before they departed, Ike yelled out to a horsemen, "Mist come on. You're the only one who can touch it."

A young bright eyed girl got off the horse and came. Her hair was an orange color and used a blue psychic staff. Marth was struck dumbfounded when he saw the girl entering a war, but decided not to bother. He led them down the chambers and there was the Fire Emblem hiding behind a steel door. He opened it and there it was. Marth carefully picked up the Fire Emblem and showed it to them.

Ike looked at Marth and said, "Wait. How can you pick it up without going mad?"

Marth looked at Ike with a confused expression then said, "I'm guessing your Fire Emblem does? Nothing will happen, so just hold it."

Ike looked at the glowing blue emblem and held it. After a minute of Ike's fast moving heart beat, it didn't do anything. He began to grow worried and felt pain for misunderstanding. Ike looked back at Marth and said, "So this actually isn't the one I was looking for. So then what is the point of protecting this one?"

Marth didn't listen. He was trying to hear the war cries, yet outside was quiet. He began to become anxious and shouted at Ike, "I've proven that this one is ours. Now will you please stop this war!?"

"I'm very sorry. You have proven that this one is your and I shall keep my promise." They both ran and saw it was too late.

Thousands of Marth's friends and allies had died and lied still on the ground. The air was still and Marth fell to his knees. Tears began to build up in his eyes for all that was treasuring to him had died.

Ike looked at the waste land when another one of his units appeared. The man wore an assassin's clothing, had a dagger placed in his right hand, and spoke with a deep voice. He said to Ike, "We did as told. Almost everyone has been exterminated." The man looked at Marth and saw his sorrow."I see you have the Prince left in misery. So where's the Fire Emblem?"

Ike stood silent and he didn't know what to say because he didn't expect this to happen so quickly. Everything that just had happened was his entire fault for assuming Marth had the Fire Emblem. Ike regretted for everything he had just done, but what about Marth and his own Fire Emblem?

Ike had made a mistake he shouldn't have and he didn't know how to make it up for Marth. He looked around the dead waste land and saw only two people alive, aside from Marth.

Merric and Caeda, the last survivors, approached Marth and comforted him. They got up and were about to leave when Ike said, "How can I make it up to you?" Caeda motioned her head in Ike's direction with burning fury in her eyes. Ike already felt guilty enough and she was just making it worse. She went back to help the miserable prince. "I'm sorry!" Ike yelled out. "Anything, just please, let me atone for my sins. How can I be of help!"

The assassin stood there and questioned Ike, "Why are you apologizing and what happened?"

"Volke," Ike had said. "I made a terrible mistake and I want to make things right, but I'm not sure what I can do now. I started a war, finished it, now I can't do anything to fix the damage I had done. Marth, I'm sorry for the misunderstandings I had created." He began to look down and felt tears were soon to come, but tried to hold them back.

Marth removed his arms way from his friends and looked back at Ike. He went up to him and said, "The least you could do is take us in for we have now here else to go and I need my Fire Emblem before I leave."

Ike looked back up and saw the short Prince looking at him with his depressed sapphire eyes. Marth ran back to the kingdom and entered the front way. He went through a series of rooms to find the emblem and when he did, he ran back out side.

As Marth was breathing quite quick, Ike asked, "So what about your kingdom?"

Marth turned around and looked at the sky encased by storm clouds breathing heavily. "Things come and go." He said. "Nothing is permanent, but not everything can be gone forever. One day, I hopefully shall accomplish that perfect and immortal kingdom." He looked back at Ike and smiled. He flinched for the prince was smiling. "Looks like its going to rain, so shall we go?" Ike nodded, but then Marth said, "Wait, where do you live and how far is it's distance?"

A sigh left Ike's mouth and said, "We live in Tellius, Crimea."

Marth just tilted his head and said, "Never heard of it."

"Well of course you don't!" Ike yelled out. "Took almost a month on foot and a transportation of a ship to get here. Also, when you gain your confidence and allies once again, how will you get back to your home land?"

Marth stood silent. "Never mind that, but what about your Fire Emblem?"

Ike looked down and began to clench his fist. He stated, "I don't care who stole it for that emblem is important to all of us mercenaries. I'll find them and kill them." Marth nodded in agreement, but felt a drop on his cheek and he looked up. It began to rain with slow drops and they both left the ruined city.


	2. Traveling with Sorrow

**Chapter Two...**

The rain clouds had clear up and the sky had bright sun rays shining down unto them. The first few days they traveled by foot and they finally reached the border guided by a vast ocean. There, was a ship owned by a blue haired man named Nasir and the mercenaries went on board. As Marth went on, he received a subtle feeling from Nasir as he passed by, but assumed he was just being too careful.

For the first week, everything was at peace until Marth saw Soren coming down and talking to Ike. Marth was curious and decided to do some eaves-dropping. He slowly approached them and stood behind a wooden pole to hear their conversation.

"Ike, I have some bad news." Soren had said.

"What is it?" Ike replied.

"Of course we are nearing Gallia and I apparently spotted a few raven bandits coming toward our ship."

Raven bandits? Gallia? Marth didn't understand any of it and decided just to ignore it. He walked to the edge of the ship to stare at the seagulls calling out and lied down. Staring into the almost motionless clouds, he slowly drifted to sleep.

After a while of hearing the news, Marth awoke from a bird's call and he knew it wasn't a seagull's. He got up and was left in shock. He saw humans with brown feathered wings on their backs and being able to fly.

"People of this ship!" One of the birds yelled. "Leave all you valuable materials or perish!"

Marth was so flabbergasted, he ran up to Ike and said, "What are those things?"

Ike motioned toward the birds. "You mean those? They're called laguz."

"What the hell is that?"

Ike left out a sigh. "They are humans that have the capability to transform into an animal, but most aren't as stupid as them."

"I see, so they're part of your world?"

"Yes, they are and some are our allies, but they decided not to travel with us to the war we just had."

When their small conversation was finished, one of the bandits transformed and said. "Okay, now you've asked for it!" The others had also transformed and were soaring down to the ship. Mercenaries came down to join the fight and Marth decided he would too. He took out his sheathed Falchion and was started off with a huge brown hawk. Its talons swiped above Marth's head as he ducked down. He quickly turned around and gave the hawk a slash to the leg. It squawked and fell on its back. Marth jumped and gave a deep stab to the bird's chest, leaving his sword covered with blood.

Ike on the other hand, was killing each bird with one slash from his Ragnell. While he was fighting two birds at once, the lead bird shrieked and dove down after Ike. He looked up and jumped backwards to get the three birds in one range attack. He quickly threw his sword up in the air and shouted, "Aether!" He jumped up to retrieve his sword and came down with a nasty attack following a slash coming back to his position. The three birds had died and so did their leader. The remaining birds fled in fear and the mercenaries gave a shout for victory.

After the battle, it was night and everyone was having dinner. Marth went down into the small rooms the ship contained for he wasn't hungry. He opened the door and he saw his room only consisted of a bed, window, and a wooden desk. He decided to lay down and think about his lost kingdom. Sure he was sad, but he wanted to hide it and if he had to let it out, he wanted to be alone.

As some tears began to come, he heard a knock on the door and the person behind said, "Marth, aren't you hungry? Dinner is about to be over." It was Ike, but Marth didn't say anything. Instead, he wiped his tears and hid his head under the pillow. "Marth, is something wrong?" Ike opened the door and found a pillow on Marth's head. "Uhh, Marth?"

"Go away." Marth stated.

Ike stood there stunned. He didn't expect Marth to say that so straight forward. "Why are you acting like this?"

Ike took a few steps closer when Marth yelled out, "Go away!" But that didn't stop Ike. He walked over to the bed and lifted the pillow finding a prince with tears.

"Marth, are you crying?"

He was sure he had wiped them off, but he did it again. "No I wasn't."

"Don't lie to me, what's the matter?"

"I'm still really depressed on what happened with my kingdom."

"Well, I said I was sorry." Ike sat down on the bed. "Besides, you're not the only person who has witnessed sadness."

Marth got up and rested his head on his knees. "What made you sad before?"

"Well, back in Crimea, I had a father named Greil Gawain. He was the leader of the Greil Mercenaries before me and an amazing father. When I was still learning from him, a man called the Black Knight killed him in front of my eyes and that still makes me sad to this day. However, I don't have a mother because my father, before he died, accidentally killed my mother by holding the Fire Emblem from the madness it gave to him." Marth stood silent staring at Ike, but said nothing. He finally knew why Ike felt fear when Marth gave him his Fire Emblem.

Ike got up when Marth said, "I'm...sorry that I yelled at you, but do you even have a clue on who stole your emblem and why did you believe it was us?"

He looked down. "Sadly, I don't have one and I don't know who exactly framed me, but the person who told me was the queen of Crimea, Queen Elincia. I believe her because we both trust each other." Marth took out his own emblem and stared at it. Ike grabbed the door handle and before he left, he said, "Maybe we don't have a clue now, or why she told me false information, but we'll find out once we arrive in Tellius." Ike closed the door and Marth looked out the window. He was curious about the place Ike lived and fell asleep thinking so.

In the morning, Marth was awaken by Soren and was taken to the breakfast room where everyone was eating inside the large ship. He looked around to see if Merric or Caeda was around, but sadly they weren't there. He didn't know where to eat, so he decided to eat at a table that had only two people. One was a girl with silver hair who was reading a book and the other was a man with green hair and hazel eyes watching the girl read. As Marth set down his breakfast, the man looked at him as if he was assuring the young girl's protection.

Marth turned away and payed attention to his food. Even not having dinner last night, he felt there was no hunger dwelling inside him. He decided to eat even if he wasn't hungry and ate a small piece of his turkey bacon. Once he swallowed it, his stomach gave a loud growl asking for more.

As Marth was going to eat more when the man said, "So you're the prince whose kingdom we destroyed."

The girl put her book down and said, "Sothe, don't say that!" She turned to Marth, "I'm sorry on what my friend said. I hope you can forgive him."

He tried to pull off a smile and said, "No, it's fine."

The girl got up and so Sothe. Before she left, she said, "My name is Micaiah and it was nice meeting you." When Micaiah left, Marth's abdominal growled again and he looked at his food. He began to eat rapidly with the hunger of his stomach and even asked for seconds.

When he was done with a full belly, he left the ship's diner and went outside to see the blue ocean shining like diamond. He walked over to the left side of the ship and felt the ocean breeze that soothed him. It was quite a while before since he had traveled so he kinda enjoyed it. After a while, Ike came and said to Marth, "Were here." Marth observed his surroundings when he had found one to his right. "Marth, this is Gallia, home of the laguz." When he heard 'home of the laguz', he flinched and wondered what will lie for him once he arrives in a place full of those.


	3. A Mischievous Encounter

**Chapter Three…**

As the ship docked on the side of the continent, Marth felt uneasy knowing that the place could be infested with laguz. He wasn't sickened by them, but he just had an abnormal feeling from them.

When everyone got off the ship, they began to start walking immediately. The place was full of trees, but Marth hadn't encountered a laguz, not even a passing animal. The place seemed very silent, not a sound except the mercenaries' steps. Marth went up to Ike and asked, "Is this place always this quiet?"

Ike looked back and him and replied, "Usually, but it really depends. Why do you ask?"

Marth observed his surroundings, "It just seems strange in my opinion." Ike gave off a small chuckle and they continued on-ward.

The sun began to set and everyone set up base to ensure a good night sleep except Marth. Apparently, he could not find where his tent was and just entered one hoping it was no one's. He looked around and saw it was empty. He walked in and lied down until Ike came with his grand entrance looking at Marth with a confused expression.

"Uh, Marth this is my tent, but I guess you're welcome to stay here." He said.

Marth's face began to blush with embarrassment and said, "I just can't find my tent. Sorry."

He got up when Ike said, "Its fine. We'll only stay here for the night and head back on the road tomorrow. Also, we didn't make a tent for you or your friends, so might as well." Marth began to calm down and leaned on the far right side of the tent. He took out his Fire Emblem to ensure its protection and observed every inch of it. He put it back in and looked at Ike who was cleaning his Ragnell with a soft looking cloth. Marth unhooked his Falchion knowing everything should be fine until the tomorrow's travel.

When the moon came out, Ike got up and said to Marth, "It should be about time to eat dinner. You want to come?" Marth nodded and got up. A man with green hair and eyes closed served the food.

As Marth went to enjoy a meal full of tenderized chicken, he heard a load roar that gave shivers down his spine. He looked around the darkened area and saw a rumble near some bushes. He got up and was about to take out his sheathed Falchion, but he realized he left it in the tent. He looked around to see how the mercenaries were acting, but they were all sitting enjoying their meals. He decided to approach the bush when a shrub on the other side gave a vibration. He was trapped and the air grew silent. The bushed stopped and Marth's heartbeat grew so loud that he could hear it just by standing.

Suddenly, a red lion pounced against him and bared its fangs at Marth. He placed his legs on the lion's belly and gave a quick push. The lion jumped back and a blue cat came from the left bush that was moving before. It took out its claws ready to take action, when Ike came running and said, "Whoa, wait a minute you guys." When Marth got up, he looked at the two animals and realized that they were laguz. Ike looked at him and said, "You okay?" Marth was dusting off his clothing and nodded. Ike looked at the laguz giving a small laugh and said, "Hey guys, what was that for?"

The laguz both transformed back into human stage and Marth took a good close on what they looked like. The lion turned into a large man with red hair, having cat like ears, and wearing a white turban. The other, was a skinny man wearing an orange headband, one eye was green while the other was blue, and had sky-blue hair.

The lion said, "Ike my friend! How is it going with you and your allies?"

He smiled and said, "Fine, but why did you attack my friend?" Ike looked at Marth and could tell he was having a hard time understanding what was going on. "Oh, Marth this is the nephew of King Caineghis, Skrimir and the other person is one of my loyal companion, Ranulf."

Marth offered his hand to Skrimir who gave a firm shake. Marth said, "I guess it was nice meeting you."

He chuckled and said, "Sorry about what happened. I was just trying to give my friend here a scare when I mistook him for you. I wonder why you two look so identical. Now never mind that. So why are you two here?"

Ike's expression changed into a serious one. He said, "I've just been through another war and I'm back to talk to Queen Elincia. However, of course it will take some time to get there, so we decided to stay here for the night."

"Well why not come to the palace? I'm sure my uncle will be happy to see you."

"We're kind of in a hurry, my apology."

Skrimir began to sulk, "Very well, but I better be leaving. It was nice seeing you again." When they both walked off, Marth noticed Ranulf looked back at Marth and smirked at him. He thought he was just a mischievous one and decided not to bother. When both were out of sight, Marth remembered about his lonely chicken that was not eaten.

Ike looked at Marth who was randomly infuriated with steam. Ike questioned, "Um, you okay?"

Marth looked back at him with fire in his eyes and said, "No, because I never finished my chicken!"

"Well it was your fault for leaving it." Marth stormed off not hearing the vanguard say one word. "Gosh, he's like an aggressive male version of IIyana."

"What!?"

"Nothing!"

The next morning came with partly cloudy weather and Marth waking up in his tent looking at his roommate who was still asleep. He got up and left the tent finding the sun was about to rise. He later knew he got up early then he was supposed to, but decided to get some fresh air. But before he left, he grabbed his sword making sure he doesn't make the same mistake like last night.

He decided to take a look on his surroundings to get a clear image on where he was going when it was time to leave. He saw a few animals, such as a yellow cat, but he didn't get a subtle feeling and thought they were regular animals. He walked for about half an hour and reached an edge of a cliff. Marth saw the glowing sun slowly rise up against the horizon, leaving his view bright with nature's beauty.

He stood there stunned and never thought wildlife could be this magnificent, when he heard a bush rumble. His instincts immediately told him to take out his sword and take a fighting stance. He patiently waited and saw a bird flew out flying to the sun.

He put down his sword when he was ambushed by a person. Everything went black for a second until Marth opened his eyes and found it was Ranulf. He kicked him off and picked up his sword. He said, "What was that for? Trying to scare me again?"

The laguz laughed and replied, "No, I'm going to kill you here and now!" Marth's eyes grew wide as the man went on all fours and a blue aura surrounded him. He turned into a blue cat and took out his claws.

Marth didn't believe him and said, "Why are you doing this?" The cat didn't give an answer and lunged at him. Marth dodge the attack and was almost struck by another. Instead, he received a small cut on his left cheek. He started to worry and thought he really meant it. He yelled out, "Just answer me!"

Ranulf retreated back and licked its claw that had a small amount of Marth's blood. He said, "I'm beginning to think that you might find out my darkest secret."

Marth didn't understand. "What?"

"Well of course you're new to the mercenaries and you're aware of your surroundings. Ike on the other hand, has his full trust placed on me because I'm one of his loyal companions." Marth remained confused. He wanted to know what he meant when he knew his darkest secret. When he was lost in his thoughts, the laguz pounced and knocked Marth over the cliff, but managed to hang on. His left hand grabbed the edge and his right held his sword. He looked down and knew if he had fallen, it would be an instant death.

He thought that someone could save him, but everyone was asleep, and if he yelled, it might cause the mountain's ledge to break. He knew he had to think of something quick, otherwise it would be the end of him. The only option he could think of was giving up, or try to trick Ranulf into a trap. A few seconds in tragic stress, he thought of a plan.

Marth said, "I give up. I'll do anything you want, but the only thing I ask for is you to spare my life."

The cat approached the ledge and said, "You sure about that because if I leave you alive, your life will be like the depths of hell."

Marth ignored him and tried to focus on his plan. "Yes, please." The laguz transformed into a human and offered his hand. Marth grabbed it and when he got back on land, he rapidly grasped Ranulf's tail and used all his might to throw him off the ledge.

It worked and he began to fall off the cliff, however, there was a small branch that he managed to hang onto. He yelled, "You fucking asshole! I'll kill you the next time we meet!" Ranulf slowly jumped down and was out of sight.

Marth placed his hand on the cut he gave him and it was bleeding fast. He thought it was a small cut, but it felt it could leave a scar.

He started to walk back to camp and saw everyone was awake eating a quick breakfast. When he was about to go back inside his tent, Caeda came up to him and asked, "What happened you your face?"

Marth didn't think it would be a wise choice to tell her he got in a fight with a laguz and said, "I just tripped is all." She looked at him and thought he was lying, but walked off. He went inside his tent and sat down. He took out his Fire Emblem and saw it was fine, but then took out his Falchion to see his reflection. His cut was three large slashes that was bleeding very quickly. He placed his hand on his cheek when Ike came in.

He seemed to be in a good mood and said, "Good morning. Hey, where were you when I got up?" He looked at Marth and the first thing he noticed was his injury. He came down and said, "What happened? Are you okay?"

Marth said the same lie, "I just tripped."

"You sure about that?" Ike knelt down and placed his hand on Marth's cheek. After a few second, Ike removed his hand and it was covered by Marth's blood. "That cut was a made by a laguz. Who did this to you?" Marth didn't reply and just looked down.

He was lost in his thought about what Ranulf meant that he knew his secret. He didn't understand, but knew he eventually will when the next time he meets him.


	4. Depression almost leads to Death

**Chapter Four….**

Ike still didn't get an answer, but Marth didn't know if he should tell him or keep it a secret. The only thing he could think of was possibly a lie to Ike, but it didn't matter because they were about to leave Gallia and enter Crimea.

Marth got up and went to the nearest lake to clean his wound. As he saw his reflection he saw another and it was Micaiah. He looked to his right and saw her smiling.

"Marth is everything fine?" She said. "I saw you fighting with Ranulf just earlier. What happened?"

Marth flinched and wondered how she had known. He knew he couldn't keep the secret bottled up inside and probably would've been a good idea to tell her. He said, "Micaiah, Ranulf lied to Ike about something, but I'm not sure about what."

She tilted her head and said, "Well shouldn't you tell Ike and not me? I mean, Ike knows you were attacked by a laguz and just wanted to know who did it to you. I know Ranulf is a great friend of his, but isn't it better to tell the truth to him?"

"Well yeah, but I'm afraid- Wait, how do you know all this stuff?"

She laughed, "I just always walk into the weirdest moments when you're around I guess, but continue."

"I'm afraid he won't believe it and will reject me as a friend for accusing his."

"Marth, I'm sure Ike won't do that because I know the kind of guy he is. Just relax and tell him." Marth got up and decided he would tell him.

He walked over to his tent and found Ike sitting there aggressively eating a chicken. He sat next him and immediately said, "Ike, Ranulf lied to you."

He stopped eating his meal, but continued to stare at it and said, "About what and why? Wait, did he do that cut to you?"

Marth knew it was time to tell him the truth, "Yes, but the problem is I don't know why or what for. All I know is-" Marth stopped like he got slapped across the face. He finally knew what Ranulf meant. The reason for the war was because someone told Elincia the false information about him stealing the fire emblem and Marth finally realized it was Ranulf.

Ike looked at the paralyzed prince, "Marth?"

He looked back at Ike and said, "He lied about the war. He was the one who gave the false information to Elincia, but the last question is, why would he do that?"

Ike offered a chicken leg to Marth and said, "Wow, you figured out that so fast, but are you positive?"

Marth took the chicken from Ike's hand and said, "It's above fifty percent that it's true."

After a meal, everyone began to pack up the base and get ready to move to Crimea. After a few miles, it became difficult for Marth to walk. His lower right side was throbbing in pain, but he didn't know why. He began to walk slower and after a few minutes, he was in the back of the travelers. He looked at his side and realized part of his shirt was torn. He lifted it and saw he was bleeding.

He wondered how that happened without him feeling anything until now. He observed his surroundings and found nothing suspicious. He decided to be more cautious when he heard a fast whistle that slid right past his arm. He looked to the direction that the object came from and saw they were human bandits.

Marth took out his Falchion, but flinched in the pain on his side. He looked back at them and noticed there was a few numbers of them and thought he could handle himself. He dashed forward and attacked the bow user with a quick slash. He grunted and Marth turned around finding a sword-master about to attack. He blocked and countered, but then was stab by another bandit from behind.

Marth jumped back and fell on his knee because of the excruciating pain. An axe user jumped up and almost fell upon Marth, but he pushed himself to dodge. He changed his angle and tried to take a fighting stance. He was about to lunge forward when someone yelled, "Hey, you need help?"

Marth looked at the direction the voice came and it was Sothe. Marth thought it was different of him to help out, "Sothe?"

"Save the chitchat later, we have some Zawanas to kill." Marth nodded and looked back at the bandits ready to attack when his side began to throb again. He knew he had to endure it and fight, but now victory was higher since he had support. Sothe dashed and quickly killed a man by slicing his throat. Marth went after the axe user and gave a stab to his chest. After a few kills, only the leader remained and both fighters were ready.

The leader chuckled, "You really think you can kill me just because you killed my units? Well you're wrong!" He rushed toward Sothe and he tried to evade, but sadly was cut on his lower leg.

He fell back and said, "Fuck, Marth you got to be careful, he has a venom axe. If you get the slightest cut by him, you're poisoned."

Marth began to feel anxious, "But will you be fine?"

"The faster you kill him the better- Ugh. Just… be careful…" Sothe fell onto the ground and a small purple aura surrounded him.

"Sothe?" No answer. "Sothe!" Despair fell upon Marth for not protecting his comrade and his heart filled with revenge. He looked back at the leader who was laughing. Marth dashed at him with lighting fast speed. He slashed his stomach and allowed the man's blood to flow out.

"What- How did you do that?!" The leader said. He looked at Marth and saw darkness dwell within his eyes. Stunned by him, the man coughed out blood and fell onto the ground.

Marth said nothing and picked up Sothe. He decided to slowly drag him back to the mercenaries that were long far by now. After a while Marth felt a drop on his face and looked up. Once again, the sky was covered by clouds and rain was falling upon them. He looked forward and still no sign of the mercenaries. His view turned foggy due to the clouds, but continued forward.

An hour passed by and the rain had not stopped, but slowly got worse and so was Sothe's condition. It got to the point where he was coughing blood and Marth had to find a remedy, but he didn't know where to look. The only thing he could think of was finding the mercenaries in hope one of them can cure him. At this rate, Marth knew Sothe was going to die, but he didn't want that to happen. He tried to quicken his pace, but with Sothe's weight, it wasn't possible. He grew exhausted form carrying the assassin and fell unto the drenched ground. He looked at him and saw the purple aura growing bigger, but he couldn't do anything about it. Marth looked back at his side and saw the bleeding didn't stop. He knew why he became tired so quickly; it was because of his injury making him pass out from the loss of blood.

Marth didn't care about himself, he just wanted to save Sothe, but he slowly grew drowsy. He began to close his eyes, when he heard a faint voice cry out. He tried to get back up, but fainted in the process with the sounds of rain filing his head.


	5. Devastation

**Chapter Five…R & R are appreciated too…..**

Marth woke up finding himself on a bed inside a place similar to a shop. He got up and felt no aching from the match he had last night. He saw his shirt was removed and was wrapped with bandages on his side. He looked around and found a window showing it was still raining. He then searched his pants to see if his Fire Emblem was still there and luckily, it was. As he was staring at it, he remembered about Sothe.

He hurriedly got off the bed and was about to look for him when someone said, "Whoa, you can't get up yet mister." He turned around and found a young lady wearing a pink coat with long black hair and green eyes. "You got quite injured a few days ago, glad Ike and Micaiah saved you two."

A few days ago?! Marth was stunned and said, "What about Sothe? Is he okay?"

"You're in luck and so is he. He was rescued just in time and I think you should thank Micaiah and Ike."

"But can I first see Sothe? It was my fault for not saving him…" Aimee showed him Sothe's room and walked in. He found the assassin lying in a bed and Marth noticed that the purple aura faded. He sighed in relief and found Micaiah sitting near the bed watching Sothe. He approached her and said, "Micaiah, thanks for saving me and Sothe."

She looked at Sothe for a second then to Marth, "You're welcome, but I think you should thank Ike and not me. I just noticed neither of you two were there so I went to look after you guys when Ike decided he would come along too. Besides, he was the one who carried both of you guys here."

Marth's face flushed, "Well that must've been embarrassing…"

"Pardon?"

"Nothing!"

Marth exited the room in search of Ike. He looked around the shop and found many of the mercenaries, but not him. After a while, Marth heard his stomach growl for food and thought he would later search for him. As he walked in the cafeteria to find the man whose eyes are always closed that cooked amazing food, he found Ike having a conversation with Soren. He didn't want to interrupt, so he went straight to eating.

When he was done, so was Ike's conversation. Marth went up to him and said, "Ike thanks for saving me and Sothe."

The vanguard smiled, "Your welcome."

Marth was still curious of his surroundings and asked, "Where are we exactly?"

"We're in Aimee's shop and the adventure is almost over. We are in Crimea and about to meet Queen Elincia."

Marth himself was a prince and wanted to know what a queen's personalities was like, "Just wondering, what is she like?"

Ike's smile turned into a blush, "You mean Queen Elincia? Well- She's very nice, sweet, has long lovely green hair, and shining hazel eyes. I met her when she was a princess and her kingdom was in need of assistance. I also helped her when she became queen."

The first thing that he said made Marth immediately realize Ike was in love with her. He then remembered about Shiida and grew sad. He tried to forget about the past and went outside to see how the rain was holding up.

Ike came out and said, "Marth were heading out to see Queen Elincia. Come on." When he was about he leave he left one last message, "This time, don't do anything stupid or to get yourself into trouble. Okay?" The prince smiled and followed, but thought it was going to be a hassle to walk in the rain.

Everyone packed up and started moving again. When Marth was walking alongside the mercenaries, he saw Sothe next to Micaiah and they were talking. He even saw Sothe smile which was a rare occasion. After about an hour, they reached the castle guarded by many people.

When the guards saw Ike, they yelled, "Ike has returned!" They opened the gate and allowed all the mercenaries to go in. Marth found the place to be quite large and when they entered the throne room, the queen was not there. Then many side conversations began until a girl with short blue hair and was completely drenched came in.

She ran up to Ike and was breathing heavily. Ike said, "Lucia what happened? You're completely drenched and what happened to Queen El-" He noticed she was crying. "Lucia, tell me. What happened?"

"I-Ike, Eli-Elincia is dead!" She began to sob even louder, "I thought she was just taking a walk around the castle and after a while, I grew worried. I started to search for her and I found her lying dead in the royal hallways!"

"What!?" A lightning stroked down near the castle following a sound of thunder and Marth jumped hearing Ike said that so loudly. He looked at him and saw his emotions were beginning to show. Marth saw sorrow streaming down Ike's eyes and saw dread dwell within him. He lost his only lover and Marth began to feel sad for the queen he never was able to meet. Ike then said, "What did you do with her body?"

"We put her inside one of the Crimea royal coffins and buried her behind the castle."

"Can you please take me there?" Lucia nodded and they exited the castle. They went around and found a tombstone that said, 'Here lies one of Crimea's queens, Queen Elincia." The grave was enshrouded by flowers, hiding the black shining tomb from anything else. Ike approached it, "No, gods, no. Please, why!" He fell on his knees and tears overtook him. "Elincia, I-I promise you, I will avenge your death!" Another bolt of lightning imbedded into the ground with sounds thunder.

Ike got up and asked Lucia, "Is there any trace of her death? A single clue could help as well and can you tell me when she died?"

Lucia replied to Ike while staring at the grave, "It was about a few hours ago when I found her body. I searched around her body and I found she was killed by a stab to the left side chest. The only clue I find was this strand of hair." She gave Ike a small case and opened it. Inside was a small strand of blue hair. He lifted it and tried to match it with Lucia's hair, but the color was much lighter.

Ike looked at Marth and said, "I think we both know who killed her."

Marth nodded, "It's definitely none other than Ranulf. The hair color matches perfectly."

"I don't get it though." Ike had said. Lucia and Marth looked at him. "Why would he lie and assassinate Elincia and tried to kill you?"

"Why would he indeed." Marth said. "Hopefully time will tell us later on."

After an hour waiting in the rain, the mercenaries went back into the castle to change their clothing due to the heavy rain and decided to stay there for the night. A few hours later, night fell upon everyone and Marth was sitting in a guest room wondering why the rain has not yet stopped. He felt worried about the poor vanguard that lost someone who was dear to him and wondered what would happen to Crimea without their queen. He laid there in bed and fell asleep with unanswered questions.

Later that night, Marth was awoken by some footsteps near the hall where room was. He got out of his bed and opened the door silently. He looked both directions and found Ike with his full set of armor walking toward the direction where the entrance of the castle was. Marth quickly took his Falchion from his room, sheathed it, and chosen to follow him.

It was hard to prevent Ike from noticing Marth because he could rarely find a spot to find when Ike was being cautious. Sometimes Marth had the run all the way back from the last turn to hide himself. He knew he couldn't hide himself forever, and since the entrance was nearing, Marth decided to approach him and said, "Ike where are you going this late at night?"

He turned around and said, "So you're the one who was following me. I thought it would be Rolf or Mist."

"You didn't answer my question."

Ike grunted and looked down, "Marth, I plan to find and kill Ranulf myself. Tell everyone that's why I left-"

"No Ike, you can't do that. What will everyone do or think when I tell them that? That their leader left because of vengeance, or have no choice but to stay in the castle until their fateful leader returns?"

"Marth I-"

Marth started yelling, "And what happens if you never find him? You come back to us by yourself with empty hands?!"

Ike immediately placed his hand on Marth's mouth and quietly shoved him toward the wall. Marth tried to struggle, but then he saw to his right that someone was walking around. The person looked all directions and began to walk back the direction it came from. Marth sat there and when the person left, Ike removed his hand.

Ike whispered, "Marth I'm sorry on what I just did. I-I was trying to…."

"I-It's okay. You were just trying to prevent anyone from hearing our conversation. I'm sorry that I yelled and lost my temper. I didn't want anything bad to happen to you was all. Also, I guess it was stupid of me to bring my Falchion as well."

Ike looked at the sword and laughed, "And thanks for helping bring back my sanity. I didn't know what I was doing, thinking I could find Ranulf by myself. Were all in this together to avenge Elincia." Marth nodded with a yawn and they both went back to their rooms for a night's sleep.


	6. Natural Disaster

**Chapter Six… **

Marth awoke the next morning finding the rain had stopped, but clouds still lingered in the sky. He got out of bed, his room, and then entered the hallways. As he was walking, he remembered the conversation he had with Ike last night. But then again, he thought it was more of an argument than a conversation and sighed.

Later that day, as Marth was eating his breakfast, he tried think of a place where Ranulf would've hidden and devise a plan when did. When he was finished, he decided to talk to one of the mercenaries' greatest tacticians, Soren. He found him in the basement looking at a map showing Tellius's geographical features and asked, "Hey Soren, do you have time?"

The sage looked at him and said, "If it's about Ranulf, of course. So first of all, we have to know his location. Do you have any ideas?"

Marth looked at the map and found the continent to be quite confusing, considering it was his first time there. He saw the five places labeled: Crimea, Gallia, Daein, Begnion, and Goldoa. He noticed each contained a castle, but said, "Soren, can't you tell I've never been here before, so how can you expect me to know?"

The sage sighed, "Very well. I will find his location and think of a plan."

Marth nodded and heard footsteps coming down. He turned around and found Ike. He went up to the sage and asked, "Any ideas yet?"

"Quite a few already; Ranulf could be hiding here in Crimea, or somehow made it to Archanea where we met Marth."

Marth heard his hometown name and said, "Why would he be there?"

"There is a reason why. He told the false information to Elincia and she told Ike. He destroyed your kingdom for assuming you had his emblem, but really, Ranulf was the one who stole it. He knew that Ike would ask Elincia, so he assassinated her and possibly went back to your kingdom to rule it. The other option for him being here in Crimea is: He killed Elincia so he could rule Crimea, but then it would make no sense for him trying to kill you and stealing the emblem."

Marth and Ike looked at each other with wide eyes then at Soren. Ike stepped up and said, "Well, it's expected from one of our best strategists. Nice job, but should we plan on getting there now?"

The magic user looked down, "I'm afraid there's no say, but I recommend us staying here for a while, just to make sure he doesn't have plans for Crimea." They nodded in agreement and headed back to their rooms.

The days they had were long and stressful. Everyone wanted to know what their next plan was, but sadly only Marth, Ike and Soren knew. At times the people would ask either one of them on why they still remain in the castle, but they all gave the same reply: their taking a break. The mercenaries later gave up and decided to oblige to what they said.

On a certain day though, Marth himself grew impatient. A week went by at the speed of a year in his imagination. Once in a while he would even pace in his room waiting for the time Ranulf would strike, but he never did and grew worried of his kingdom. He gave up and went after Ike and said, "Ike, it's been a week. Don't you think he would've attacked or ruled Archanea by now?"

Ike looked down, closing his eyes and clenched his fist, "Marth please, I'm doing exactly as Soren instructed to do. I know that your kingdom is in trouble, but we have to make sure because we can't afford anything with Crimea. It's still intact, but who knows how long while Archanea is just in the verge to be built again by him possibly. But what I do know is that, once we get there, it will be too late."

"Then let's be there on time."

Ike looked up and found Marth smiling, but he continued frowning, "But Marth, it took us about a month to get there and another to get here. How do you expect us to-"

"Ike, there's no such thing at can't; only try. You got me?"

He started laughing, "Marth, you sure can be quite philosophic at times. Okay, were leaving tomorrow morning." Marth nodded and eagerly waited for the coming day.

Luckily for Marth, yesterday went quick and was ready to avenge Ike, Elincia, and his fallen kingdom. He knew that once Ranulf was defeated, then everything would be over and brought back to peace. He gladly accepted and began to pack up. He even visited Micaiah, Sothe and other mercenaries to see how they were holding up.

Everyone, especially Ike was doing this for Elinica, while Marth was doing for both his hometown and her. He felt energy course throughout his body and when it was time to leave, Marth was the first to dash out of the castle, heading back to Gallia.

After a week, the sun came out of hiding and the weather was nothing but blue skies. Everyone boarded Nasir's ship and waited for the next step in the adventure.

Over the days, the mercenaries encountered not a single problem until the day before they arrived. Marth was with Ike and they were sparring in the lower basement using wooden swords. Marth went after attack after Ike's side, but was dodged by him changing his angle and dashed forward to give a stab to Marth's chest. He parried and countered with a quick swipe to Marth's shoulder.

Marth was about to do another action when the ship gave a tremor. Both sword-users stopped their match in worry what was happening with the ship. They were running up to the top part of the ship when Mist came running down and said to Ike, "Ike we're in big trouble!"

Ike grabbed both of Mist's shoulders and said, "What's wrong?"

"We're about to hit a storm and a big one too!"

Marth looked at Ike and he looked back at him. Both of them ran and found the clouds nearing them and would arrive at any moment. Marth's spirit plummeted and couldn't help but say, "This is bad. Of all times, why now?"

Ike looked back and had a picture in his head showing all his mercenaries dying before his eyes in the storm. He clenched his fists and said, "I can't allow that to happen…Marth tell everyone to get ready to face a storm and to survive to matter what!"

Marth nodded and went after every dorm he could find and warned everyone. Later, he passed Ike and he said, "Marth, even the ship doesn't hold, we got some small ones that will hopefully cover everyone." He nodded and went after more mercenaries to caution.

After a while, Marth thought he covered everyone when he remembered Micaiah. He searched everywhere when he realized she wasn't in her room nor Sothe's. As he did a second skim around the ship, he heard raindrops falling onto the ship. He searched every room, place and asked everyone. He was left with no clues and worried. He had no choice, but to go in the storm and find her possibly wandering the ship during the storm.

As he went up, he thought it was lucky for him to realize Micaiah could've been there when the storm was recent. He opened the door and was surprised as a gust of wind flew across his face following rain. He looked forward and found Micaiah hanging on the rail staring out at the ocean's waves. He pushed himself to reach her, but with each second, the storm was raging worse.

He called out her name, "Micaiah!" The wind blew his voice away to the east and he saw her clinging to the rail. He knew she was about to fall off and tried to run, but the dock was slippery. One slip of the wrong footing could lead to his death. Each step he took made him slip the side the ship was tilting toward. He decided to wait for the ship's next tremor and when it did, he began to slide and grabbed onto one of the rails. The rail froze against his hands, but he held tightly no matter what. He took a small step each time, but saw Micaiah was paralyzed with fear due to the storm.

"Micaiah!" He tried once more, but again, the wind blew his sound away.

He looked down due to the fact that he was drenched, the wind was blowing across his face, and the bars were freezing. He still tried to reach after her, but after another step, he heard a shriek and he looked up. He found Micaiah off the ship, hanging on for her life on the other side as waves were hitting against her.


	7. Mournful Empire

**Chapter Seven….**

Marth saw Micaiah struggling to get back on the ship, but he could tell she wasn't strong enough. After a minute, he almost reached her, but he then noticed the wind was blowing to the north on where he was headed. He called out, "Micaiah!"

She looked up and Marth was in relief she finally heard him. Micaiah called out, "Marth, I'm sorry!"

He held out his hand and said, "This is no time for chit-chat, grab on!" Micaiah did so, but the storm's rain was getting worse by the second. She held on tightly, but at times she almost slipped trying to hang onto Marth. They carefully made their way back in and once Marth found shelter and away from the storm, he collapsed on the floor breathing heavily. He looked up and found all his comrades noticing the savior of the young sage. He got up and felt very heavy due to the cause he was soaked to the bone. Marth looked at Micaiah and said, "Are you okay?"

She gave a sad expression as she watched the water drip from her hair and said, "Yes, I'm fine."

He noticed that she was depressed from something, but he had to ask a question that could not be avoided, "Micaiah, why where you over there in the storm?" As Marth stared at her, he heard a sniff. He jumped and felt guilty for making her cry. "Umm, I'm not trying to be mean, but I'm sor-"

"No, I'm sorry." She said as she interrupted Marth. "But especially to-"

"Micaiah!" Everyone looked to the direction the voice came from and they saw it was Sothe. He ran up to Micaiah and held her in his embrace; holding her so tightly as if not wanting to let her go. "Micaiah, are you okay? You're soaking wet."

She returned the hug by wrapping her arms around him and said, "Sothe, I'm all right, but I'm sorry."

He let go of her and asked, "What for?"

Marth and Ike looked at each other and then back at the lovebirds. They nodded at each other and they both left to let them be, but Marth on the other hand, still wanted to know why Micaiah left out into the storm. He decided to stay and listen in to their conversation.

"That special tome you gave me when we were on our way to Crimea. Once you gave it to me, I saw you smile and it made me happy. But as I was outside, the ship had a small rumble and the tome slipped out of my hands. The entire time out there, I was trying to get it back. I'm sorry."

"You mean the Thani I gave you? Micaiah, it doesn't matter as long as you're safe. Come on, we have to go back inside our dorms. Do you want me to stay with you?" She nodded and they both left and Marth was pleased realizing that she was trying to get back what was important of her.

He left and as he was walking towards, his room, the ship gave another tremble, but not as severe. He knew the storm was going to end soon and he entered his room. The only thing that made Marth worry was the people who get sea sick.

The next morning, Marth noticed the weather was fine and got out of the dorms. He looked at the vast diamond ocean and leaned on the side of the ship. He noticed the sun was rising, but as he was staring into it, he heard a door open and close. He looked toward the door that lead to the dorms and found it was Sothe. The assassin approached him and said, "Marth, thanks for saving Micaiah."

The prince smiled and looked back at the ocean. "You're thanking me? That's quite rare of you to thank anyone. Just wondering, if you care about Micaiah what caused the delay for you to save her?"

Sothe leaned on the ship's rail and replied, "When I was about to save her, I was running to the exit when I saw everyone near the door. I looked out the small window and I found you saving her. I trusted you, but I'll admit, I was jealous and I went back into my room."

Marth gave out a laugh, "Well, no matter because she's safe and that's all we needed to worry about. But there's one thing still on my mind." Sothe got off the rail and looked at him. "When we were back in Gallia, fighting those bandits, you called them Zawanas. Who are they exactly?"

"Oh that. I met Ike when I was a kid, but he told me his first fight as a mercenary. A village was under attack by bandits called Zawanas. In the end, he was able to save everyone."

Marth looked out into the ocean and something caught his attention. He saw an island against the horizon and got off the rail. "Sothe look!"

He observed his surroundings and noticed the large continent. He said, "Looks like were here, your hometown Archanea."

Marth smiled and walked back into his dorm. He felt like a child finding his home and was filled with cheerfulness. He went back in and laid on top if his bed. He knew some people were still asleep and chose to wait until it was time to go.

After a while, Marth heard a knock on his door and said, "Come in." The door opened and Ike came in. Marth got up from laying down wondering what the vanguard could want from him. "Umm, Ike, you need something?"

He sat beside Marth and said, "Marth we're here."

Marth smiled, "I noticed early on when everyone was asleep. Glad we are here to finish off Ranulf and I can't wait to get my kingdom back." Marth looked at Ike closely and noticed he had a depressed appearance. "Ike what's wrong?"

He got up and smiled, but Marth knew it was fake. "Marth, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He left his room and closed the door.

He sat there in his room and wondered what was causing Ike to be depressed. He thought maybe because of his father or Elincia. Marth couldn't help but worry because they were close comrades and they worry about each other. He picked up his Falchion in ready for departure of the ship with confused emotions dwelling within his head.

Slowly as everyone was exiting the ship, Marth buckled his Falchion around his waist and walked onto the continent. He observed his surroundings and found nothing was unusual and continued to walk forward. As he was walking, Soren approached Marth and said, "Marth, anything off from what you remember?"

Marth was beginning to quicken his pace and said, "Not yet, but I will destroy Ranulf if I find him here. He better not mess with my kingdom."

By the time they were halfway there in reaching the kingdom, Marth was in the front leading all the mercenaries with Ike by his side. The closer he was getting there, the faster his pace grew and once he saw his kingdom, he started to run. Marth looked behind and saw everyone was also starting to run and looked to his right finding Ike running by his side. He smiled and they looked forward running to reach their destination. They reached at the top of a small hill and they saw his kingdom surrounded and filled with laguz in every corner. He looked to the top and found Ranulf watching his slaves. He turned around and went back inside. Marth was left in horror. This wasn't a peaceful place anymore, he thought of it more as a dreadful empire. Marth clenched his fist and ran to his home ruled by an evil dictator.

As he was running down the small hill, a voice called out to him, "Marth!" He stopped and Ike was walking towards him. "Marth we can't make any rash decisions. We must act wisely in order to save you home. I know your heart is filled with revenge, but trust me, it will lead to nowhere. I have learned from my own mistakes. Now come on, Soren will think of a plan to help us get in there." Marth nodded when he heard a sound of a rustle. He quickly unsheathed his sword and saw a gray tiger emerge from the bushes. It growled at him when Ike said, "Hold it, there's no need to fight-" The large cat pounced atop of Ike. Marth gave a slash against the beast's hind leg. It jumped off and bared its fangs at Marth. It was about to attack Marth when a green aura came in the shape of a tornado and attacked the beast. Marth saw it was Soren enchanting wind magic from his green tome. The tiger growled, but laid down on its side.

As they saw the dead animal carcass, Ike said, "Wait, shouldn't the laguz go back in human form?"

"I agree." Soren had said and began to approach the dead corpse. He began to examine and said, "Ike don't you remember that elixir that Izuka used to turn laguz into feral ones? It seems Ranulf is using it as well."

Ike had a shocked expression and Marth was confused. He looked at Ike and saw anger so he decided not to bother. However as he was walking away, Soren said, "Sorry about that, but Marth, that elixir we were just talking about, turns laguz into their animal form and they remain like that for the rest of their lives; knowing nothing but fighting."

Marth nodded showing he understood. He stared at his home with revenge, but he knew he had to be patient. He tried to calm himself, but clenched his fists from his remaining anger. He turned around and waited for the final battle to begin.


	8. The Emblem War

**Chapter Eight and the final chapter. I tried my best to make this a memorial chapter because it's the last. I appreciated the people who read my story, but sadly I didn't get as many reviews as I expected because I love feedback. Well, no matter, but I'm still deciding on writing an epilogue, so if you want one just ask and I would be happy to write one. I hope you enjoy and thanks you guys!**

Marth was surrounded by his comrades and was sided by Soren. The two sat there and Marth drew out a map showing his castle's features within and out. Both of them sat there and devised a plan when Marth suggested a surprise approach fighting Ranulf. He predicted that since he was ruling his land, it would've been expected of him to lie in Marth's throne. After an hour in trying to do so, they got up with a strategy and Marth sent out most of the mercenaries to fight against the outer field feral ones with Ike as their leader.

While that was in process, Marth went around to the rear entrance of the castle to sneak in the back with a small group beside him. When he managed to get a quick peek of the back, he noticed there were feral ones as well, but he and Soren had a plan in case of more enemies than expected. Marth searched around his small group and noticed Volke was messing with his dagger. Marth couldn't help but say, "Volke, why don't you help us out by killing them with you silent Lethality?"

The assassin obliged and approached the two beasts. Once they both noticed his presence, they roared at him and began to strike. Volke held out his dagger in front of his face and tilted it so the pointed edge faced the laguz. He dashed forward at the speed of light with a red aura surrounding him and gave two diagonal cuts including one sliding across.

The gray beast stood there, then fell unto it's side and allowed blood to flow out; creating a small red liquid puddle. Volke stared at the dead animal carcass when the other pounced against him, but he dodged with a simple change of his angle. The yellow laguz bared its fangs at him, and in reply, Volke said, "Time to release your misery." He threw his dagger in the air, retrieved it, and slashed the cat from all directions until it was lead to it's death.

Marth was impressed by his skills, but remembered he had other things to think about and motioned his hand telling his group they must continue on.

Meanwhile with the larger group, Ike was handling most of the enemies while trying to get in the front entrance. He group was meant to be a distraction; however, Marth and Soren predicted that since Ike's army is so powerful they might as well try to find a way in.

Ike was paired up with Gatrie and Oscar as his teammates. Sothe and Micaiah were paired together and everyone was piercing through the enemies' defenses. Ike would attack many feral ones at once while Gatrie and Oscar got his back. However, at one time, Oscar was handling a large blue tiger that turns out to be Mordecai. He stopped and went silent when I came and said, "He got Mordecai…" The large laguz roared and lifted it's paw covered with white strappings around it's wrist and smashed it down. Ike dodged the powerful attack, but could not bear to attack his once fellow comrade.

Gatrie yelled out, "Ike, we know this is tragic to you, but you're not the only one witnessing this. Fight back!"

Ike stared at Mordecai and thought Ranulf could've gotten Lethe and Lyre. He wanted to avoid fighting anyone of them and possibly could find cure to the horrifying elixir. He already encountered Mordecai, so he had no choice. Ike took a fighting stance and dashed forward with a distant slash against the beast's neck. Ike couldn't help but say, "I'm sorry." Mordecai's neck was covered with his own blood, but he still didn't give up yet. He stood his ground and pounced against Ike. He slashed the Vanguard's chest and tried to attack from behind. Ike grunted from the pain seeping through his chest. He turned around and blocked the attack. The two were struggling and Ike pushed the beast back.

Ike placed his hand on his chest when Mist came and said, "Ike, hold on!" She came riding in with her horse and healed him with her blue physics staff. The cut diminished slowly, but he noticed Mordecai was after the Valkyrie. Gatrie came in and defended Mist using his colossal blue armor. Ike looked at the laguz and chose to end his remaining life filled with pain. He killed Mordecai with another stroke of his Ragnell and the beast roared while falling unto the ground.

Ike stared at Mordecai, but Gatrie came in and said, "We can't do anything now, but we will give him a proper funeral later." Ike nodded and followed Gatrie to continue the fight with Mist by their side as well.

Back with Marth's group, they sneaked in the castle with Volke's pick lock ability and were heading towards the throne room. They fought many feral ones on the way, but they didn't stop them; not even time wise. They were running up the stairs and Marth found a door he recognized as the room he inherited. The only thing that didn't resemble was the four large hawks showing their talons at the mercenaries. Marth took out his Falchion, but Soren said, "Marth, go in. We can handle them."

Marth was confused and replied, "But Soren what about our plan of fighting Ranulf together? With everyone?"

Soren just released a wind magic against the bird and said, "This is you fight and not ours. Also, we were the people who caused this with our idiotic assumption. If it wasn't for us being aware of Ranulf's alteration, none of this would've happened." He quickly cased a lightning magic at the large brown hawk and turned back at Marth. "Also, if you keep fighting like this, you'll be tired by the time comes for the final battle between you two and there's a risk of you getting injured fighting off these birds. But what's most important is your victory. If you lose, everything that we have done to get this far will be pointless. Now go!"

Marth ran toward the door and looked back at his friends fighting off the laguz. He went back to staring at the door and opened it. Inside, he noticed the sun had set quickly and the room was encased with darkness except with the moon's light. There, he found Ranulf standing near the large windows showing the moon's luminous glow. When Marth walked in, the doors closed behind him and left an echo filling the room of their screeching sound. Marth felt horror coursing throughout his body and his nervousness got the best of him. As he took a fighting stance, his heart began to beat at a rapid speed with fear and agony.

Marth was trying to hold down his anxiety while he heard a laughter sounding like a lunatic just killing a innocent man. Ranulf turned around and said, "Well, it looks like you're here. Are you ready to feel the coldness they call death?" He laughed again and this time, he began to approach Marth with a terrifying snicker. Ranulf placed all fours and a blue aura overtook his body. Again, he transformed into a blue cat and gave a hiss at Marth.

Ranulf was about to attack when Marth regained his courage. His sword pointed against the laguz and said, "I challenge my fate." The cat pounced against Marth, but he dodged it by taking a leap over to the side. He jumped up and gave a stab against the laguz, but missed by Ranulf deflecting it with his claws. He jumped up, twirled into a ball and lunged himself to the prince. Marth blocked using his Falchion and countered by slashing the cat's hind front paw. Ranulf leaped up and slashed Marth's face. Marth noticed it was the same spot as last time, but this time, a deeper wound. Distracted by the cut dripping down from his face, Ranulf used his tail and wrapped around the prince's leg. Ranulf pulled and made Marth slipped and fall onto the ground. The cat lifted his paw and tried to claw on Marth's face. He constantly had to keep dodging from what could lead to his death by rolling to the side.

After a while, Marth grew tired and tried to get back on his feet when Ranulf hissed once more. He lifted both paws and made his claws stretch out longer. Marth knew that this was going to be the end, when a sudden slash came out of the door; hitting Ranulf and making him hit the wall on the other side. Marth noticed that slash wasn't wind magic and turned around. He was it was Ike with injuries all over holding the Ragnell. Ike gave a small chuckle and said, "Glad this weapon can attack far distances. Well never mind that, did I make it on time?"

Marth got up and said with a smile, "Yep, you did."

Ike came over next to Marth and saw Ranulf was getting back up. He howled, "I'll kill you both! I will drive your lives to the deepest parts of hell!"

Ike said to Marth, "Are you okay? This isn't over yet." Marth nodded and wiped the blood off his face. Both of them stood together, brothers in arms, prepared for the final outcome.

Ranulf leaped over and tried to attack Marth, but Ike quickly deflected the attack. He dashed forward and stabbed Ranulf's underside that made him feel throbbing flowing in his body. The cat flinched and fell backwards. He was already in much pain from the battle with Marth and Ike's attack with the Ragnell. Ranulf transformed back into a human and started yelling, "I will never lose! Don't you get it?! I am the ruler of Archenea!" He began to laugh.

Marth felt tension and began to feel bad about the laguz losing his sanity. Marth said with depression, "I'm sorry...but your end comes here." Marth lifted his sword up high against the air that it pointed at the ceiling. A dark blue aura surrounded Marth and he called out, "Luna…" He twirled his sword and dashed forward at the speed of light. The moon reflected off of Marth's movements showing him slashing from all directions and a final one from behind. Marth finished the attacks and Ranulf fell behind him and slowly nearing death. Marth approached Ranulf to finish the finally move before he dies of blood loss. He saw him staring at Marth and worded out a few words in silence. Marth was shocked, but he finished Ranulf with the final shot down the man's chest. The sound of the last cut echoed around the room and the battle was over. Marth was victorious with the moon's light shining down.

Marth emerged from the castle and saw the wasteland was barren again from when he first met Ike. He smiled and saw all the mercenaries waiting for the hero of this war. They shouted for Marth and Ike who held his own emblem and so, ended Marth's journey. Later, in the years, people and mercenaries agreed on one thing, this war was no ordinary and so hence forth it name. "The Emblem War"

**~SuddenJami**


End file.
